Once upon a time, long, long ago, the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns were regular participants in the NFL Championship game. Sixty-nine years ago today, on December 26, 1954, the two teams met in the title game for the third straight year. Detroit had won the first two meetings, 17-7 and 17-6, but this time the Browns blasted the Lions, 56-10.
The Lions lost the game as much as the Browns won it: Bobby Layne threw six interceptions, and the Lions also gave up three fumbles. Otto Graham, meanwhile, threw three touchdown passes and ran for three touchdowns for the Browns. Cleveland’s kicker, Lou Groza, set an NFL Championship game record with eight extra points. (The previous record was five, set by Bob Snyder in 1940.) Groza’s record still stands, though Jim Martin tied it in 1957, in yet another championship game between the Lions and Browns. Detroit won that game, 59-14.
Today’s card of the day is Lou Groza’s 1954 Bowman card. Altogether, Groza played 21 seasons for the Browns: four in the AAFC, and seventeen in the NFL. The Browns won four AAFC and four NFL titles in that span. Groza was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974, and the Browns have retired his jersey number, 76.
You can see all of Lou Groza’s football cards in the Gallery, as well as the retired numbers for all the NFL teams.
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